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Meritage
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I14 SAN ME STREET. SUITE 1200
SAN FRANCISCO. CA 94104
(4 151 288-0550
FAX (415) 288-0555
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Nun-Profit Lmu and Consulting in Cons~rvationof Natural Resources and the ~ h b a Environment
Gregory A. Thonu
Preridpnt
COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE
STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD REGARDING
REVIEW OF STANDARDS FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY/
MAY 16. 1994 Workshop
Presented by cynthia L. Koehler
Natural Heritacre Institute
SUMMARY RESPONSE TO KEY ISSUES
1. What are the principal ESA issues the SWRCB should consider
'durinq this review?
Most fundamentally, the Board should address endangered and
threatened species issues from an ecosystem perspective rather
than an exclusively species-by-species approach. The.State8s
past failure to set, and then enforce, meaningful water quality
standards for the Bay-delta estuary is largely responsible for
the extraordinary declines native fishes have experienced in
recent decades, and for the rise in the number of species
eligible for listing under state and federal Endangered Species
Acts.
Dr. Peter Moyle testified before this Board two years ago
that between 1980 and 1992 the estuary experienced a 90% decline
in total fish abundance, and that declines have been particularly
severe in spring-spawning species such as delta and longfin
smelts. (WRINT-NHI-9 at 4.) Populations improved somewhat in
1993 due to the wet conditions, which demonstrates the need for
higher outflows. The Board also was informed during its 1992
proceedings that in addition to winter run Chinook salmon, which
was already formally listed as endangered under both federal and
state law, various other fishes were headed for listing as well,
including delta smelt, longfin smelt, spring-run Chinook salmon,
Sacramento splittail and green sturgeon.
During the ensuing two years of State inaction, delta smelt
has been listed under the federal act and Sacramento splittail
has been proposed for listing, with final listing likely by the
end of this year. In a study prepared last year for the
California Department of Fish and Game, Professor Moyle
demonstrated that spring run Chinook salmon and longfin smelt
qualify as endangered, and that green sturgeon and various other
fishes qualify as threatened. Dr. Moylefs study listed Late-fall
Chinook, and other fishes which rely upon the Bay-delta estuary
as species of "special concern." (Moyle, P.B., R.M. Yoshiyama,
J.E. Williams and E.D. Wikramanayake 1994. Fish Species of
Special Concern 1n.California. University of ~alifornia,Davis.)
Thus, in whatever standards it now seeks to develop, the
Board must look beyond those species that are already listed, to
species that have experienced severe declines and may be eligible
for listing now or in the near future. Our experience with
winter run Chinook and delta smelt'have demonstrated amply that
ignoring critical species declines until a crisis point is
reached calling for extreme solutions under endangered species
statutes to stave off extinction is fundamentally flawed policy.
.:
,
Therefore, in this most recent effort by the Board to
establish water quality standards for the Bay-delta estuary, NHI
recommends that the Board treat the conditions set forth in the
biological opinions for winter run Chinook and delta smelt as
beginning points only. These opinions have been criticized as
insufficient to attain the mandated goal of avoiding jeopardy to
these fishes or to ensure species recovery. Beyond these
opinions, the Board should develop standards which take into
account the full spectrum of habitat issues that bear on the
viability of fish and other aquatic species in the Bay-delta
estuary. At a minimum the Board should address the specific
habitat requirements of the following fishes.
Sacramento S~littail. The splittail is now confined to the
Sacramento-San Joaquin estuary. . It shows a strong correlation
with delta outflows and its numbers have declined dramatically in
recent years. The Natural Heritage Institute filed a petition
for listing the splittail with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
("FWSgg)in November 1992. On January 6, 1994, FWS proposed
threatened status for this species under the federal ESA, citing
its 62% decline over the last 15 years. FWS identified large
freshwater exports from the delta, loss of habitat, and chemical
pollution as among the primary factors leading to this decline.
(59 Fed. Reg. 862.)
Successful splittail reproduction is dependent on high delta
outflows preceding, during and following spawning, which occurs
during the spring months. Studies have established that year
class success is associated with winter runoff sufficiently high
to flood the peripheral areas of the delta. Therefore, measures
are necessary to limit diversions from the delta, and to assure
adequate inflow from the lower reaches of the rivers, during the
spring spawning months.
Survival of the splittail depends upon the protection of the
habitat it needs at all stages of its life. The geographic
extent of this critical habitat includes all of the delta, and
much of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, as well as Suisun
Bay. The physical and biological conditions that are related to
adequate delta outflows are critical. Thus, habitat requirements
for the splittail include the following factors:
1. Adequate freshwater and flooded vegetation in spawning
areas during March and April to ensure successful spawning.
2. Late spring (April-June) outflows of 12,000 to 14,000
cfs to keep juvenile and larval splittail out of the Delta,
to prevent entrainment and exposure to toxic materials.
A copy of NHI's
reference.
petition for listing is attached for your
Lonsfin Smelt. Longfin smelt populations have been in sharp
decline since 1983. The factor most strongly associated with
this decline has been the increase in water diverted by the CVP
and SWP during the winter and spring months when the smelt are
spawning. As Professor Moyle has previously testified before
this Board, continuation of this pattern will almost certainly
extirpate this species in the Bay-delta estuary. The Natural
Heritage Institute filed a petition for listing the splittail
with the FWS in 1992.. FWS determined that "strong relationships
between outflow and longfin smelt abundance indicate that
outflows less than 3,400 cfs result in productive failure for longfin smelt...Because of its 2-year life span, such flows for
more than 2 or 3 consecutive years could push this species toward
extinction." (59 Fed Reg 69.) Despite this finding and its
acknowledgment that longfin smelt have declined in the estuary by
90% since 1984, and by 50% annually since 1987, FWS nevertheless
declined to propose longfin smelt for listing, but included it in
glcategory2. Ig (59 Fed. Reg. 869. )
However, FWS based this decision largely on its conclusion
that the Sacramento-San Joaquin estuary population segment does
not seem to be biologically significant or reproductively
isolated. This conclusion seems to be flawed based on available
scientific research. FWS relied primarily on ggunverified
reportsg1of offshore collections of longfin smelt, from which FWS
inferred the possibility of migration between estuaries. These
reports, however, are 25 years old. All recent data indicate
that longfin are extinct in Humboldt Bay, the nearest location to
the Bay-delta estuary where longfin once existed. NHI will
shortly be submitting a request to FWS that it review its "1-year
findingg1with regard to longfin smelt based on the considerable
evidence indicating that the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta estuary
population segment is indeed reproductively isolated and
biologically significant.
Thus, for the Board's purposes in determining water quality
standards, the biological imperatives for maintaining longfin
smelt must be addressed. There is a strong positive correlation
between winter and spring delta outflow and longfin abundance the
following year, as well as a strong correlation between delta
outflow and juvenile survival in the estuary. The reason for
this is that flows increase the rate of transport into the
rearing habitat in Suisun and San Pablo Bays, and reduce the
probability of the larvae being retained in the delta, where they
are exposed to a greater likelihood of entrainment.
Longfin smelt will persist in the Sacramento-San Joaquin
estuary only if adequate standards for delta outflows are set.
Ideally, there should be no CVP or SWP diversions while longfin
smelt are spawning, February through April. At a minimum, spring
outflows in dry and critical years should be 12,000 to 14,000 cfs
from January through March before diversions are permitted.
Thus, habitat requirements for the longfin smelt include the
Following factors:
1. Net positive flows down the Sacramento and San Joaquin
Rivers when adult smelt are moving up for spawning (November
through February)
.
2. Net positive flows down the two rivers when larval smelt
are present (mainly February through April).
3. Late spring (April-June) outflows of 12,000 to 14,000
cfs to.keep juvenile and larval smelt out of the delta, and
to prevent entrainment and exposure to toxic materials.
See NHI
-
Petition for Listing, attached. Although some of the
actions which have been recommended for delta smelt should be
also beneficial to longfin smelt, these two species differ indistribution within the,estuary and in spawning times. This
means that additional protections are necessary for longfin
smelt.
Swrins Run Chinook Salmon.
As indicated in our earlier
comments for the April 26 Workshop, spring run chinook salmon are
eligible for listing under federal and state endangered species
statutes. Less than 200 adult fish returned to spawn in 1993. A
consensus has emerged among the State's preeminent fisheries
biologists that problems in the delta are primarily responsible
for the severe decline in spring run stocks over the last decade.
As it considers actions geared specifically toward endangered
species, the Board should attend as well to measures necessary to
restore spring run stocks.
NHI has deferred filing a petition for listing spring run
Chinook until now in order to allow a coalition of fishermen,
local landowners and regional agency officials and the
conservation community to work toward innovative and volunteerbased solutions to spring run issues in the tributaries. Since
it has become clear that the delta is the major obstacle to the
recovery of this species, it is imperative that a hydrodynamic
standard be established to alleviate the adverse impacts of delta
pumping on this species. As previously indicated, if the State
fails to provide adequate protection for the spring run through
its regulatory authority, we will have no choice but to proceed
with the filing of the ESA petition for spring run Chinook.
2. What are the effects of diversions throuuhout the Bay-Delta
Estuarv on beneficial uses?
NHI and others have repeatedly addressed this issue in Bpard.
proceedings over the last seven years. The Board is directed to
the voluminous evidence previously submitted on this question.
(See, e.s., WRINT-NHI-9; WRINT-NHI-20. See also, Moyle 1994,
cited above. )
'
3.
What methods should the sWRCB use to analyze the water . s u ~ ~ l v
and environmental effects of alternative standards?
DWRSIM has been harshly criticized by various reputable
parties in prior Bay-delta, and other, proceedings. NHI
recommends that the Board consider in particular the thoughtful
comments of the Contra Costa Water District and the Environmental
Defense Fund in this regard.